The Coldstream Guards Troop Their Colour MOD 45165212

The Bands of the

Household Division Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country's most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with ...

refer to the grouping of the seven

military bands A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

of the

Bands

The bands are: *

Band of the Household Cavalry Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra The Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra (CWSO) is a 24-member string band from the British Army's Royal Corps of Army Music. It is currently the only independent full-time string band in the British Armed Forces. It is named after Sophie, Counte ...

*Foot Guards Bands **

Band of the Grenadier Guards The Band of the Grenadier Guards is one of the bands in the British Army. History In 1685 Charles II allowed the band to maintain 12 "hautbois" (oboe) players. His death in 1685 was so significant for the band that until the Second World War ...

Band of the Coldstream Guards The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the British Army, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley. History The band of the Coldstream Guards was officially formed un ...

Band of the Scots Guards The Band of the Scots Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division which primarily guards the British monarch. The band is based at Wellington Barracks in St James's, London, which is the same place as for a ...

Band of the Irish Guards The Band of the Irish Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division whose main role is to guard the British monarch. The Band supports the Regiment by providing the musical backing to which much of the ceremo ...

Band of the Welsh Guards The Band of the Welsh Guards is the youngest of the five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division, specifically the Welsh Guards which primarily guards the British monarch. History The Welsh Guards Band was formed in 1915, ...

The massed bands numbers around 250 musicians who are members of the

Royal Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

rather than the named regiments. These are on show in the

Changing of the Guard Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...

ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. Similarly, both the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment st ...

regiments have their own mounted bands and also their own regimental quick and slow marches.

Trooping of the Colour

Band Trooping the Colour, 16th June 2007

The Massed Bands and Mounted Band are featured annually at

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...

. In addition to the occasional pipers that join the bands, the presence of the Bands of the Household Division totals to approximately 400 musicians. It is responsible for performing the Royal Salute (''

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...

''), providing music for the inspection of the line, the trooping through the ranks, and the march past in slow and quick time. One of the unique roles it has is the trooping of the band. This occurs once the King is seated, to which the command "Troop!" is given by the Field Officer. Upon hearing the command, three strikes on a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

and a playing of one note by the bands give the signal for the Massed Bands to begin. Under the command of the Senior Drum Major, the Massed Bands march and countermarch on Horse Guards Parade in slow and quick time. The slow march music is traditionally the Waltz from ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'' while the quick march is generally a chosen tune. During the quick march, a lone drummer from the Corps of Drums breaks away to post himself just to the right of No. 1 Guard to sound the lone drummer's eight-bar "Drummer's Call". This initiates the Trooping of the Colour phase, by means of signalling the

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of No. 1 Guard to cede his command to the

Subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

of No. 1 Guard. The call having been sounded, the lone drummer returns to the Massed Bands.

Spinwheel

As the Escort to the Colour slow-marches down the field towards No. 6 Guard to begin their colour trooping, the massed bands perform a maneuver unique to their unit and the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

known as the anti-clockwise " spinwheel". It is a 90° turn in restricted space, and is the specific responsibility of the

Garrison Sergeant Major A garrison sergeant major (GSM) in the British Army is the senior warrant officer of a garrison and holds the rank of warrant officer class 1. The GSM London District, always a guardsman, holds one of the four most senior WO1 appointments in the ...

. Lieutenant-Colonel Rodney Bashford, Director of Music for the Grenadier Guards from 1960-1970, was quoted as saying the following about on the spinwheel: ::''"A 'wheel' is not an easy manoeuvre with even a small body of troops, and with a block of 400 men the normal wheel is impossible. The massed band therefore pivots on its own centre, so that certain outer ranks and files march long distances in a hurry while the centre and inner ranks loiter with extreme intent, or merely mark time. Yet others not only step sideways but backwards as well. This highly complex movement is called a 'spin-wheel', the details of which can be found in no drill book or manual of ceremonial. Its complexity defies description, and if the truth were known, many of the participants know not whither they go or, on arrival, how they got there. The spin-wheel is almost an art form and each performance of it, although similar in essentials, is different in detail. Most of the performers are adjusting their actions to suit the needs of the spin-wheel of the moment, having adjusted their movements quite otherwise on other occasions.

Beating Retreat

The

Beating Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...

is a massive gathering of the band's of the Household Division on

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. Hi ...

. It is based on a 16th-century military ceremony in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. It is held each year, on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings preceding

, with the Massed Bands,

Pipes and Drums A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

and

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

of the Household Division, supported by The King's Troop and visiting military bands from around the world.

Senior Director of Music

The first bandmaster to be commissioned was

Daniel Godfrey Daniel Godfrey may refer to: * Daniel Godfrey (bandmaster) (1831–1903), bandmaster, composer and arranger of compositions for military bands * Dan Godfrey (1868–1939), his son, British music conductor * Daniel Strong Godfrey Daniel Strong ...

of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, this being a personal award coming with a

Jubilee Medal A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

as part of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

’s Golden Jubilee Honours in 1887. In the Foot Guards, personal commissions would later be granted to Lieutenant Colonel John Mackenzie Rogan and Captain Albert Williams. As a result, on 6 June 1914, the term "Director of Music" was introduced to distinguish those with a commissioned rank from warrant officers. Since 2020, the senior director of music has become known as 'Commanding Officer, Household Division Bands'. List of Senior Directors of Music since 1914: {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; line-height:20px;" , - ! Name !! Regiment !! Term , - , Lieutenant Colonel John Mackenzie Rogan ,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, 1914–1920 , - , Captain Albert Williams ,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 1920–1921 , - , Captain Frederick Wood ,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

, 1921–1929 , - , Major Andrew Harris ,

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

, 1929–1938 , - , Lieutenant Colonel George Miller ,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 1938–1942 , - , Lieutenant Colonel ''Jiggs'' Jaeger ,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

, 1963–1968 , - , Major Rodney Bashford ,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 1968–1970 , - , Lieutenant Colonel James H. Howe ,

, 1970–1975 , - , Major Gerald Horabin ,

, 1975–1977 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Richard Ridings ,

, 1977–1985 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Derek Kimberley ,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 1985–1987 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Michael Lane ,

, 1987–1989 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Peter Hannam ,

, 1989–1993 , - , Lieutenant Colonel David Price ,

, 1993–2000 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Hills ,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 2000–2002 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Chatburn ,

, 2002–2005 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Bob Owen ,

, 2005–2007 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Graham Jones ,

, 2007–2011 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Barnwell ,

, 2011–2013 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Roberts ,

, 2015–2017https://www.cenotaph-requiem.net/conductor , - , Lieutenant Colonel Darren Wolfendale ,

, 2017–2021 , - , Lieutenant Colonel Simon Haw ,

, 2021–Present

References

British military bands Royal Corps of Army Music

Bands

Trooping of the Colour

Spinwheel

Beating Retreat

Senior Director of Music

See also

References